In 1775, determined and angry colonists took up arms against a common foe, and their battle cries signaled the birth of the United States Army. The Army has been forged in the fires of revolution, tested on continental battlefields, battered at the shores of Normandy, and hardened on the sands of the Persian Gulf. From its first stand at Lexington, the Army has always had a non-negotiable contract with the American people to fight and win the nation's wars.

Now, over 225 years after the founding of the Continental Army, the spirit and essence of the United States Army is celebrated for the first time in a definitive, magnificently illustrated, large format book published with the Army Historical Foundation.

The Army is too large, too technically complex, and too historic to be adequately discussed by one or two persons. Written by an outstanding team, including historians, authors, and experts associated with the Army Historical Foundation, U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the United States Army War College, as well as several distinguished retired Army officers, The Army has over 350 pages of riveting and informative text and stories of the Army experience. Essays on U.S. Army history and today's soldiers focus not only on the tanks, helicopters, vehicles, and weapons, but especially on the people that make it all work. The thoughtful incorporation of full-color and vintage photography, portraits, recruiting posters, and historically inspired paintings complements the text while adding the excitement that only spectacular illustrations can bring to a book.

The Army enables the history of America's military to be cherished permanently in a handsome package that every soldier will be proud to own and--with its unique medallion-inlaid cover--to display. This book will be read again and again by past and present soldiers, their families and friends, and the countless others that have been inspired by the exploits of the United States Army.